Extension clasp for bands such as bracelets



New. 3, E948. G. A. GOTT; ET AL.a

EXTENSION CLASP FOR BANDS vSUCH AS BRACELETS .Filed Deo. 16, 1947 George J7, Go f77/drew Killian I and Jl/oholws Vbpz'aellz/ mm waff ORNEYS Patented Nov. 30, 1948 2,455,392 v xoNonAsP For ANDS SUCH ,AS lender v 35,.) George gotti, New-York, Andrew Killian, Elmillllrell .110 .S Volvilli, storia, N- Y'- .eeplietienpmler 16, 1.94% Serial Np- '192,024 49eme. (eifel-.7n l

. 1 2 The main object of this invention vis to pro- Fig. '7 is a side elevation of a latch member; vide J-a'-'sin1ple,` `eicient,'V strong, durable `device and f' i" 'arid capablev of being"'economically' manufactured. Fig. '8 is a front elevation thereof. 1 Mviiurth'er'o-bjectis to "provide such a'idevice as Referring now erely to the'specic form of can'heroperatedwithout anyspecial knowledg 5 the' invention shown yin the drawings, it is'to be andwtliin-a"matter-of a-'few seconds. blserv'ed'that there is `provided v'a casing orhos- A still further object is to provide such a device A'ing' `lllffha'ving an' open bottom, and "dependent asiican be quicklyapplied'and adjusted to the 'side wallsll with inwardlyi'turne'd flanges l2,

bodyimemher' to the exact'degreey of-snugness-dethe ends of these flanges 'are' turned upwardly Si1Td"by.1he wearer. i l0 at'l3 to provide a track: f- Further and more specific objects, features and In these'traclns are `silidably received the oute advantages will'moreclearly appear from 'a conedges 'I4' of airaclr plate EI5,theforwardportion ,.Sdlation of the detailed V specication` lherein- 'of'which is cut away asshown at I'i'and therear `after setkforth; especially When taken in connecportion'o'f'which Aon itsvupper surface is "provided Vtion;witlrll the accompanying drawings which illusl5 with'rack teeth l1. Therack yplate atoneend Prte aipl'e'sent preferredfform which theinven- 'thereof' vextends through on' openinglin'the 1919,11 may assume and which formA part of 'the `casing l'and has'a turned over end I9 adapted lleccatgn. to be connected to an adjacent link of a bracelet l ]r1 l: 1rief and general termathe invention 'cornor other flexible band. p siesqaclasp housing ,having an open bottoni and 20 Adapted to' b'e' disposed and housed withink th in hich a plurality of extension connector elecasing l0' are a pair of extension'connect'o'r 'ele'- me tsare pivoted to each other anditheretc and ments 2D vand r2|.-"The connector 20i's suitably a ted to'rbe swung 4out'to expandthe norrnal vpivoted within the housing at 22 and is suitably length of. theband to which they are connected. 'p'iiioted at its other endl 23`to one end of theother Araokjeleinentis slidableialong theI bottom Qffthe 25 connectorZL The opposite'end of the connector calsinglielow the housed connector elements, Aand. 2| is'pr'ovided with turned-cverend- 24,whe`reb`y its teethare adapted/ inthe usual mannerutofen- `it may beconn'ected toan adjacent link of' the ftgefdal toothon o ne of said connectorelernents, v'iiexible band. "As shown VinFigrZ, this `end-'of whereby the rack element canbe advanced along the'connector 2l `extends through a slot orfopentheivhouslngvtplany desired degree,- the .free end B0 ing 25iin'the housing t0, whereby such'fconneco saidnrawc'k elenient beingwcqnne'cted to one end tion' t'o an 'adjacent link may be made even-while e bqfe/Y:Ihemh-er-ericiroling1band. .Manipulathe kconnectors 20and 2l may be 'disposed withablnans .grejpmvqd Qnjhe housinghto d isin the Ahousing'as shown in Fig; 2.

-er1/,gage` the tooth enjoin the rac); when desired, With a given bracelet or band, the normal dis- .Wlllbyfllhe lfak maybe pulled outa sufcient 35 position of'the connectors 20 and 2|' is for them distan euto allqwthe connector elements to to `be folded together within the housing Il) as Qi 211e hQllSilQg Aand tlllby, expand thenorinal showniin' Figs. 2 and 4, when the band is disposed le gthvoiutheuband. Means are also 'providedto around'the'arm or wrist or other portion`-of-the ,filQrSlvlelliont pressure to hold the tooth t and body? It` will be seen irFig. 6 that the connector the -rac teeth together when 'the COIlIleotQrS are 40 2 l is slightly wider than the connector 20 and'has Wlthn .the .Casilla lateral-flanges' 26 so-as to snugly receive'and latprejrferred form which thelinvvention erally embrace 'the' connector 2B when these conmay assume is shown in the 4drawings of which: nectorsare :folded together. This construction Fiel is a plan View of` the' extension device; permits'f'tneparts te be new. in' denite position F 2.15131Veltical longitudinal Section thereof 45 without any loose play. When'the parts 4are 2"-52 ,Qf 1; housed within the casing l0, there isa spring 'ele- 3isua vertical cross section thereof on lines ment 2'l-"fastened at vone end to the end-of `the ,1i-t3 Qf 13 lcasing l'wththe other end bearing against the rvFig.,4'is an enlarged vertical longitudinal sectopof connector 20 as' shown in Fig. 4. The lower tion' ofthe endfof the device; Y 50 surface 'of-the connector 2l Vis provided'with'a .Fig.,5is'a side" elevation of thev device with th rack tooth 28 adapted under the impulsion'of extension elements or connectors removed from springl'l to be kept'in engagement with oneor thei housing;VA another of therack teeth' il. 'As is usualwith "Eigxfis' a perspective View of an end of one the operation of racks, teeth Il and the tooth 28 ofthe Connectors; rf; d6 are so constructed that the rack plate I5 `canbe end of the casing shown in Fig. 4 and numbered' 29 is pivotally mounted on a shaft 3U and is constructed as a part separate from the casing but forming, when in position, a continuation thereof. The top of this pivoted portion of the casing is provided with an upwardly extending lip 3| which can be engaged by the finger to pivot this portion. This pivoted portion of the casing is provided with forwardly extending fingers 32 which are normally adapted to extend under a shoulder 33 suitably formed in the turned-over end of the connector 2 I. I will be apparent that when the finger engages the lip 3| to move it to the right, as

shown in Fig. 4, the fingers 32 will be elevated and carry with them the folded connectors 2D and 2| lifting them against the resistance of spring 21,

lfront end of this rack plate to the position shown in Fig. 5 or further and thereby provide a greater `length of band. When the connectors are folded within the casing, it is also to be noted that the degree to which the rack plate is pushed into the housing may well determine the tightness with which the band encircles the body member, since this plate is connected to an adjacent link of the band.

The purpose of displacing the connectors and 2| from the housing is to temporarily greatly expand the length of the band so that it can be easily removed from or disposed on a wrist or other body member which it is to encircle. After the band is disposed thereon, then the links are folded and moved back into the housing and the rack plate is moved as far into the housing vas is necessary to cause the band to properly and snugly embrace the body member. This adjustment. of the rack plate can be made very finely by reason of the engagement of the tooth 28 with any one of the teeth on the rack plate. A mere ip of the finger on the lip 3| will permit the rack plate to be moved back a suihcient distance to permit the removal of the connectors out of the housing. In the movement of the folded connectors back into the housing, it is clear that the turned-over end of the connector 2| on which the shoulder 33 is formed will slip `past the fingers 32 which are resiliently mounted and will then snap under the shoulders as shown in Fig. 4. The spring 21 will maintain the parts in engaged position until the disengagement thereof is positively effected by the lifting of the ngers 32 in the manner above described.

It is therefore obvious that the device is compact, durable, strong and composed of a minimum number of simple parts which definitely cooperate `to permit the removal of the device from a body member with ease and the attachment of said device to said member with equal dispatch and the final adjustment of the device on the body member with any desired degree of snugness.

While the invention has been described in detail and shown with respect to the accompanying drawing, it is not to be limited to such details,

since many changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Hence, it is desired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the invention which may come within the language and scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a device of the class described, a housing having an open bottom, -a plurality of interpivoted connector elements adapted to be disposed in said housing in folded condition, one end of said plurality pivoted to the housing, the other end projecting from the housing, a tooth on the last of said elements, a plate slidable along the bottom of the housing having rack teeth on its upper surface adapted to engage said tooth and uni-directionally latching the plate against withdrawal from the housing, the end of the plate always' extending beyond the housing, spring means on the housing bearing against the plurality of elements to maintain engagement of the tooth with the rack and manipulatable means adapted when operated to move'said elements to disengage said toothand permit withdrawal of the rack.

2. In a device of the class described, a housing having an open bottom, a plurality of interpivoted connector elements` adapted to bedisposed in said housing in folded condition', one end of said plurality pivoted to the housing, the other end projecting from the housing, a tooth on the last of said elements, a plate slidable along the bottom of the housing having rack teeth on its upper surface adapted to engage said tooth and uni-directionally latching the plate against withdrawal from the housing, the end of the plate always extending beyond the housing, spring means on the housing bearing against the plurality of elements to maintain engagement of the tooth Withsaid rack, a portion of said housl ing forming a continuation thereof but being separately pivoted, a lip on said separate portion to be engaged by the finger-of the operator, and ngers on said pivoted portion in contact with partA of said plurality of elements, wherebyY the movement of said pivoted portion will cause the elements to be moved to disengage the tooth.

3. In a device of the class described, a housing having an open bottom, a plurality of foldable connector elements 'to be disposed therein, a slide plate adapted to be moved along the bottom of the housing to enclose said elements, the forward portion of said slide plate being cut away toperlmit movement of said elements out of the housing` when the plateY is withdrawnv a' predetermined amount, said plate having rack teeth thereon and a tooth on the adjacent element engageable'with the rack teeth, spring means pressing against the elements to hold the tooth infengageinent' and manipulatable means to displace said elements and disengage said tooth. 7

4. In a device of the class described, a housing having an open bottom, a plurality of inter-pivoted connector elements adapted to bedisposed in said housing in foldedcondition, one end-of said plurality pivoted to the hou'sing,l the other end projecting from the'housing, a tooth on one of said elements, a plate slidable along the bottom of the housing having rack teeth on'itsupper surface adapted to engage said tooth and unidirectionally latching the plate againstA` with; drawal from the housing,-the.end of the` plate always extending beyond the. housing, spring means on the housing bearing against the plurality of elements to maintain engagement of the tooth with the rack and manpulatable means adapted when operated to move said elements to disengage said tooth and permit Withdrawal of the rack.

GEORGE A. GOTTI.

ANDREW KILLIAN.

NICHOLAS VOLPICELLI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Weisman Dec. 16, 1930 Domler July 10, 1934 Heleman Dec. 29, 1936 Bennett Jan. 31, 1939 Nelson Mar. 14, 1939 Goulden M ay 23, 1939 Lundman Feb. 21), 1940 

